Facing Your Fears
by Clayton Overstreet
Summary: Korra and Asami have a few issues to work out in the spirit world.


I don't own these characters or profit from them.

Legend of Korra

Facing Your Fears

By, Clayton Overstreet

It had been two weeks since Korra and Asami had stepped through the portal to the spirit world, hand in hand. Since then their days had been spent like they were camping, though with a few differences. They were living on fruit and berries and it being the spirit world they had to politely ask the trees and bushes for those things and if they were told no they moved on. It was a little weird, but after they ran out of supplies they had little choice. Fortunately the spirits understood the circle of life and most were willing to spare a few in exchange for… fertilizer. A somewhat gross but effective arrangement.

Aside from that the days were sunny, the horizon spread out forever in front of them, and as beautiful as it was Korra felt it barely compared to Asami. If only she could tell her that. Oh she had commented a few times. "You look great this morning." And Asami had returned it, making Korra's heart flutter and her knees go weak. She had fought off mercenaries, an evil queen, and the spirit of darkness, but that girl could knock her over with a look or a word.

As time went on though, Korra had been questioning herself. She had gotten up the guts to ask Asami here. To a whole other world where they were the only humans around except maybe a few priests wandering around who knew where. Still she had not even…. She stopped, her brain rebelling and tried to stop her heart from leaping through her chest.

Truthfully Korra had barely gotten any sleep since they came to the spirit world. They only had one tent and she had slept so close to Asami that she could feel the heat of her body and hear her heartbeat over the sound of her breathing at night. Korra spent most of her nights just listening until she fell asleep from exhaustion… and Asami was an early riser. Not that they had any place to be, but the spirit world was amazing and every day they found something new to experience. If Korra had been here alone it would have been like being a kid again, reborn into a whole new world and learning something new every day. Instead she just watched Asami, loving the look of wonder on her face.

Loving… just the thought sent a tingle down her spine.

"Korra, are you okay?" The two of them had taken a seat on a green hill, looking down at a passing river with strange spirits swimming, barely seen below the surface.

"Better than ever," Korra said with a sigh. "You know I've always loved the action of being the Avatar. Even when I was a little girl I… well I liked blowing stuff up. Raising rocks. Breaking them. Turning water into ice and the sound of it shattering when I broke it apart.

"After the last few years though… I'm starting to understand Tenzin and his meditation a bit more." Asami raised a doubting eyebrow. "hey don't get me wrong. I'm not ready to spend my days sitting around trying to reach spiritual enlightenment. But for right now, I'm enjoying the peace."

Asami nodded and said, "I agree. On the one hand I'm missing my machines. I love the purr of an engine and going fast. I don't think I could ever give that up. But for right now…" She leaned over, laying her head on Korra's shoulder. Her long soft hair flowed down Korra's back and hunks brushed across her chest, blowing in the wind and softly tickling her. Asami was wearing a leather vest and a short skirt, the heavy clothes they had been wearing when they entered the portal far too warm for where they were now. Korra was in a sleeveless blue water tribe shirt and a matching pair of shorts. "Everything I want is right here."

Korra smiled and gently pressed her cheek to the stop of Asami's head, closing her eyes. She could smell the scent of Asami's shampoo and perfume, a mix of flowers, fruit, and skin.

Asami reached over and pressed a hand against Korra's exposed belly, making her freeze like a deer-cat caught in headlights. "Your muscles feel so hard. Like wood wrapped in soft leather. I don't know how you managed to get so strong."

"A lot of exercise. In the water tribe we have to hunt and build igloos and all sorts of other things. Add in my training to be Avatar… traditionally we're not supposed to be told until we're sixteen, but I figured it out early… and I ended up working twice as hard as anyone." Korra, hand shaking, reached up and touched her fingers to Asami's cheek, brushing aside her hair and hooking it around her ear. Then she cupped Asami's face, holding it just a bit. "I like how soft your skin feels."

"Yeah, well that is because when your father is rich and powerful, if you want to do anything fun you have to show up looking like a debutant to any parties you happen to be invited to at a moments notice. If I had not learned how to put on makeup and ball gowns without looking like I work on engines all day, I wouldn't b able to work on engines all day."

"Well you definitely manage it," Korra said. "I've never seen a more beautiful mechanic."

Asami laughed. "Thanks. Though I have to admit, I don't have much competition in that area. You're pretty too Korra. It's not easy finding a girl who can kick butt and still come out of it looking like a goddess."

They sat there quietly for a moment, letting that sink in. Finally Korra said, "Well that was a good break. Want to keep walking?"

"Sounds great," Asami said. They waited a tad too long before reluctantly standing up. They took hands and started walking again, though now they stared into one another's eyes rather than at the beauty all around them.

That night they made camp as usual in their fold-up tent. Korra was expecting another night like the others, but shortly after the sun set Asami said, "Korra, did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"Something outside."

Korra frowned and sat up. On her knees she scrambled over to the opening in the tent and looked out. To her surprise the forest looked different. In the light of the full moon the trees were no longer covered in emerald leaves with tiny animals playing in them, but bare skeletal branches. Among them were dozens of glowing eyes and slithering shadows, moving among them. And then other things… large things.

"Uh oh."

"What?" Asami said, pressing against her back and peering out into the night. "Oh my." They both backed inside and sat down on their knees. "Korra, what is going on? The forest looks completely different than it has before."

"I don't know," Korra said. She tried to think. "The first time I was here I got sucked into the ground, ended up under water, swallowed by a giant alligator, and woke up in a swamp. But then I was only here in spirit. I'm not sure how much of that is possible when we're here physically like this. The other times I was here were mostly short trips fighting someone or some thing."

"So do you think we managed to make some spirit angry?"

"Asami, I don't know," Korra said again. Outside something big moved around and howled.

"Korra I'm scared," Asami said.

Korra forced a smile. "Don't be silly. Nothing scares you. You're the bravest person I know."

"That's not true," Asami said. "I know I've faced some pretty tough odds, but this is different. I'm only human. I can't bend. I can't project out of my body. All the things I've faced before were people I could hit. Outside there's just… spirits. How am I supposed to handle that? I don't even really know what they are."

Korra saw tears in Asami's eyes and reached out to her. "Asami, I promise you, that whatever happens, I'll protect you. But I need you to be strong too. I need you to be Asami, the most courageous person I know, because that's where I get my strength." Asami pressed her lips together and nodded. "Okay, wait here and I'll go out and see if anything is really wrong or if this is just some weird spirit world thing."

"Are you sure…?" Asami stopped herself. With a confidence she was not sure she felt, she said, "I'll be here when you get back."

Korra hugged her tight. "I'll be right back." Reluctantly she let go and crawled out into the night. Looking around Korra was not sure what to think. Nobody had really spent much time in the spirit world since the first Avatar had sealed it thousands of years before. Only a few mystics who could leave their bodies. Though she knew some spirits crossed over sometimes. One of the previous Avatars had lost his love's face to one, according to the stories she was taught.

That was not going to happen to Asami. No matter what, Korra would protect her.

"Hello? Is anyone out there? Are you trying to show me something?" There was no reply. "Look, if we've done something to offend you just tell us and we'll make it right."

"Who are you yelling at?" A voice said.

Korra turned around in a quick circle, hands raised defensively. "Whoever you are, I come in peace, but don't think I can't defend myself. I'm the Avatar and I am here in the flesh. I've got my bending so if you're going to try anything, don't think it won't cost you."

There was a giggle. "Ooo, you're so tough. You know Aang was completely different when I knew him. Always goofy and a little nervous. You're a lot more confident than he is. On the outside at least."

"You knew Avatar Aang? Who are you?" She frowned. And what do you mean by that last crack?"

"It wasn't a crack, only an observation," the voice said. "As for who I am, what do you see?"

Korra frowned and looked around. "Darkness. Shadows. Some glowing eyes."

"Perhaps I should have asked, what are you seeing them with?"

"My eye…" She stopped and looked up. "The moon."

In the light of the full moon a shape appeared, floating as if the moonlight were a river and she was swimming in it. "Very good for one so young."

"You… you're Yue, right? The moon spirit?" The beautiful white-haired girl nodded. "Are you doing this?"

Yue looked around. "Doing what?"

"This place… it's different than when we were here earlier. Everything has changed and it's all scary. Even in the light all I see are dark shapes I can't make out, I hear noises that sound like things that could hurt us, and I know it's still the same place where we were, but different."

The spirit smiled and floated closer, reaching out to Korra. "Avatar, you know this place. The spirit world is a twin to the physical world. A mirror image, reflecting not the outside but the inside. Some of those here are as evil as those in your world and others are dangerous, as is their nature, but it is all the same." Her hands cupped Korra's face, not feeling real. Both warm and cool at the same time and Korra stared into her softly glowing eyes. "Do you know my story Korra?"

"You were a princess of the Northern water tribe, saved by the moon spirit. When Jao tried to kill the moon spirit you sacrificed yourself to bring it back to life."

"True, but do you know what my greatest regret was?" Korra shook her head. "Not that I would lose my life as a human, but that I would lose those closest to me. I knew that to save them all I had to give them up, and I did it willingly. But in the days before that happened I could have had so much more. Instead I wasted them trying to do right by everyone but myself. Afraid that by choosing what I wanted I would destroy everything.

She floated back, up into the sky. "Jao would have come and blotted out the moon, regardless of what I did. He had been planning it for years and nothing I could have done at the time would have changed that. But if I had followed my heart I would have had nothing to regret when the time came. Do you understand?"

Korra looked around again at the dark world around her. Heard the unseen things and saw the strange shapes she could not make out. Then she looked up past Yue to the true moon, which was still the same. "I think I do."

"Good. Then you know what to do." She seemed to disappear into the light, fading in such a way that Korra almost wondered if she had seen her at all.

Returning to the tent she saw Asami waiting for her, anxious and clearly relieved that she was back. "I heard you talking to someone out there."

"Yeah, but I'll tell you about that later. Right now I need to talk to someone in here." She sat down across from Asami and took her hands. "Asami, I know I told you this before we came here, but I kind of forgot it myself for a while. The spirit world reflects the feelings of those who see it."

"Right, if you're angry the spirits become angry. If you're happy the world is a happy place."

"And if you're scared, then the world becomes a scary place," Korra said. "I'm sorry. The way things look outside, I guess it's my fault for not facing my fears in the first place and letting them fester. I should have dealt with them before we even came here."

Asami shook her head, hands squeezing Korra's. "I don't understand. What could scare you?"

"You." Asami looked confused. "I know things are different between us. They have been for a long time. Maybe since the day we met. Only I thought… well after everything I thought I was ready to admit that to myself. I imagined so many things. Especially when we came here, just the two of us, alone. I imagined there would be nothing in our way, nobody to interrupt… anything that might happen. But here we are two weeks later and despite everything… I'm still making excuses."

"Excuses for what?"

"For not telling you exactly how I feel."

Asami blushed and looked down. "I think I know how you feel Korra. You don't have to say it. I feel it too."

Korra smiled, feeling her heart leap. "It would be so easy to believe that Asami. To continue on the way we have been and let things take their course. But… I can't do that and still be me. I've been telling myself that we needed to wait. That doing anything before Varrick's wedding would be pushing it and that he would never forgive me for taking any of the spotlight off him and his wedding.

'Then when we came here I told myself that there was no need to rush. That we had all the time in the world. That maybe I should let you make the first move." She swallowed. 'There was also a part of me that I guess wanted to let things go by. That said we could still be friends and stay that way until… until you gave up on me. Then when I faced some Avatar related crisis that finally finished me you would not be hurt so much."

Asami shook her head. "Korra, I am never getting over you. I knew that a long time ago. Even when we were apart, even before you started writing to just me and I had your letters to press over my heart, every day I thought of you. I knew I could not be together all the time, that you and I both had things to do both for ourselves and to help everyone in the world. But I've known for a long time that together or not, my heart belongs with you."

"That's why I know I have to say this. Maybe I am pushing things. I don't want you to think I'm like my cousin Eska. Putting a collar around you and forcing you into anything like she did with Bolin." She let Asami's hands go and bent to pick up her pack. Opening the top she reached inside and felt around until she pulled out a strap of black leather with a carved charm in the middle. "Among my people there is a custom though that when you find someone you love and wish to marry, you make them a betrothal necklace. I made this… for you."

"You did?" Asami asked.

"Yes. Because I love you Asami." Korra held the necklace tightly for a moment. Then she bent forward and held it up in both hands. "I want you to be with me for the rest of my life. I don't want to just be good friends or to hide how I feel about you. I want you to be mine and for everyone to know it." Asami stayed still and did not flinch as Korra put the necklace around her neck. When Korra let it go she put her hand to it, running her fingers over the carving shaped like a polar bear-god head.

Outside the howling got worse. Korra frowned and opened the tent flap, staring into the dark and creepy woods. "Oh come on! I faced my fear! Give me a break."

Asami touched Korra's arm. "I don't think it was your fear causing all of this."

Turning back she asked, "What do you mean?"

"You just proved you could face your fears, but I haven't," Asami said. "You're not the only one who is scared Korra."

"What do you mean?"

"Korra you've seen me race and fly and fight. But all of that, I did with machines. Because the only one I could hurt was me. And because if they let me down it was because there was something wrong with them." She pressed her lips together and took a deep breath through her nose. "I won't deny I have some serious trust issues. My father… well you know all about that. Then there was Mako…"

Korra smiled. "I think we're both responsible for that. I mean look at us. We're gorgeous and we were dealing with a teenage boy. None of us knew what to do or who we really were and caught between us the poor boy ended up bouncing back and forth like a ping pong ball."

"True. But I should have known better. Should have seen the signs that both of us were sort of testing ourselves. I know I was. I mean Mako was handsome, cool, and all that. But I… felt something for you the first time I took you for a drive and I think I turned that on Mako rather than admit it." She looked away. "When I realized how he felt about you I even admitted to him that I liked you. I felt bad because I knew you also liked him and that I was keeping you apart."

"I did like him," Korra admitted. "But I… I never had a brother before. Or a sister. I thought… well I've spent my whole life among a bunch of old people training me to be the Avatar and my family. So when I came to care about all of you, how was I to know if it was as a sibling, romance, or what? You're the same way, only you were isolated in other ways. So maybe Mako was a stepping stone, the guy we were supposed to like according to the world. Cool, strong, handsome, and popular. Practice for when we realized that we were wrong for him, but perfect for each other."

"Maybe," Asami said.

"But how could you have known that?"

"Well… I had this aunt," Asami said. "My grandmother's sister actually. And she… well she actually had two girlfriends. She was a Kiyoshi warrior and she and Aunt Martha met Aunt Tai Lee while they were in a Fire Nation prison near the end of the war. They really bonded in there and stayed together afterwards."

"Tai Lee? That girl who could block chi?"

"Yeah, her," Asami said. "Anyway I feel like knowing that I should have been prepared for this. Instead I'm… shocked by how much my life depends on yours. How sad I was when you were hurt. How much it fills my heart to see you smile." Tears flowed down her cheeks and she touched the necklace. "And hw much this necklace already means to me."

"So what is wrong?"

"You're the Avatar," Asami said. "The single most important person in the world. I'm… I'm not even a bender. Yes I'm rich, pretty, and all that, but so what? Even if you were not the Avatar you are a strong person and I know for a fact that even if they stripped away your bending, you would still be an amazing person. A hero.

"Take away all of my machines and I'm just a girl. Not even a woman, for all the makeup and the dresses and the money. All of that is worthless compared to anything you've done with or without your bending over the last few years."

"You're right," Korra said. Asami looked up, startled. "Those things are worthless. Asami when I was crushing on Mako, you stood aside. When that fell apart… and yeah part of it was obviously the way you two still had feelings for each other while I was gone… I would have let him go back to you if that was what you wanted. Instead you stood by me, against foes that did not care what you looked like, how much money you had, or what machines you brought to the fight. You think the spirit of darkness cared about that?

When I was poisoned and stuck in that wheelchair, I may not have said much but your words made it through all the bad feelings I had, even if it was just a little. Your father had all the wealth and power you do, but it did not make him a good person. You did that in the end, by being you. Just like when we wrote each other. When we fought together. And when you came with me here, away from everything else." She smiled and cupped Asami's face the way Yue had hers. "Strip everything else away and you'll still be Asami, the girl I love."

"Really?"

"As long as that's what you want. Like I said, I don't want to push—" She was interrupted as Asami pushed her way through her arms and kissed her. Korra shut up and kissed her back, reaching up to run her fingers through Asami's long hair while the other girl placed her hands firmly on Korra's bottom, squeezing hard as their bodies mashed together. "Mmm."

When the kiss ended after who knew how long Asami spoke, still close enough to Korra that their lips brushed together. "I love you Korra." She leaned forward and nibbled on the Avatar's ear before adding, "We should have done that on our first day here."

"Yeah, like when we stepped into the portal." She paused. "Do you hear that?"

"Just your heart."

Korra nodded. "Exactly." She turned and opened the tent flap.

Around them the world had changed again. In the moonlight everything was visible. The trees had leaves and even flowers that seemed to glow in the dark. The stars sparkled up above and the moon was so bright it was almost daytime. Some animal spirits moved in the bushes, all visible and friendly looking in the cool night air.

Korra started to move back outside. "you know this would be the perfect night to sleep under the stars."

Asami grabbed her arm. "Not tonight."

Turning back Korra looked at her. She was about to ask "Why not?" when Asami began to under her vest. "Oh." Asami smiled broadly, unable to hide the blush coloring her face in the moonlight spilling in from outside. Korra nodded and let the flap fall shut.

The End

Author's Note

Okay I'll admit I was planning to write a Korra-Asami fic as soon as the series ended. That however got put on hold for a couple of weeks because like everyone else, I was surprised as heck when the creators actually hooked Korra and Asami up first. Something most of the fans wanted to happen, but truthfully we never thought they would actually do it. One of the first things I did after seeing the finale was watch the reaction videos on youtube where people recorded themselves watching the episode for the first time. Even the ones that were shouting "Yes, KorrAsami!" when the two were sitting alone next to each other on the steps, were gob smacked when the two actually walked hand in hand into the portal making it canon. It's like begging for a pony every day all year and then on Christmas finding a flying unicorn with a bow and a tag with your name on it waiting for you under the tree.

It's television history. Like when Kirk kissed Ohura.

True they did not kiss (which is a bit of a punk out on the creator's part) and a lot of people felt cheated by that while others used it as an excuse to claim they were just friends, but it was obvious what was going on and just in case the creators came out and told everyone that yes, Korra and Asami are in fact a couple at the end. No debate. No "it's ambiguous because they did not kiss with tongue". It's over. The voice actors once admitted that they shipped the couple too. The characters were writing each other exclusively for a while. When Korra was poisoned Asami was there holding her hand. And they walked off hand in hand into the sunset basically at the end. And just in case there is a boat load of fan art, fan fiction, and gods alone know what else out there for those who do want to have the image of them kissing or more.

Naturally this led to a lot of complaints, particularly about exposing children to such things on a daytime style cartoon. Though I find it odd since on Nickelodeon alone they do that all the time. In Danny Phantom they ended with him and Sam kissing. Timmy Turner is only 10 but he's had several girlfriends in the series and kissed a few.

Yet I heard nobody complain about that, even when they first Avatar series ended with two thirteen year old kids kissing. Two consenting adult women who have relationship based on years together, love and mutual respect holding hands and staring into one another's eyes however and suddenly the show is corrupting the young.

Not to say his is not a surprise to everyone. Nickelodeon has avoided lesbian implications as much as any other children's network. In the iCarly special "I start a fan war" there were a ton of shippers who actually got into a fight (hence the title) over whether Carly or Sam was dating Freddy, but unlike a real convention none of them seemed to be shipping Carly and Sam. Though like I mentioned in the story, they did kind of imply it with the Kiyoshi warriors in the last episode… and now we know that the creators might have actually been implying something there.

Others have been working up to this. Disney has lesbian parents on one of their kid shows and owns ABC which aired Ellen and in Once Upon a Time made Mulan fall in love with Sleeping Beauty. There was a lot of implied stuff in Kim Possible between her and Shego (plus a fairly butch woman in a flannel shirt from an artist colony that Kim once saved). Not to mention a few of their recent theater releases like Brave, Frozen, and Maleficent. Technically there was supposed to be a lesbian relationship in their new movie "Into the Woods" too, but I hear that was edited out.

In How To Train Your Dragon 2 Gobber says, "That's why I never married. That and… one other reason."

In My Little Pony Friendship is magic the girls outnumber the guys 9-1 and more than a few things have been implied both with the main characters and the background ponies. In Rainbow Rocks there was an inserted moment involving Lyra and Bonbon playing the piano cheek to cheek and staring into one another's eyes, apparently singing a love song. Tara Strong, the voice of Twilight Sparkle, has played an openly lesbian cartoon character more than a few times. In Japan there are a lot of kids shows with gay and lesbian characters, many of whom have been edited out before being shown here even if they did nothing overly romantic.

Meanwhile shows like Tiny Toon Adventures, The Mask, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, and more had openly romantic plots. Nobody whined when Yakko appeared out of the nurse's top. When Babs Bunny dressed as Jessica Rabbit or Fifi the skunk wrapped herself around a boy like a tattoo (even that one time when Pepe Le Pew turned out to be Elmira in a costume).

Male gay characters (or at least those acting in an effeminate way like the Genie in Aladdin for example) have been used for comic effect for years going all the way back to when Bugs Bunny would wear a dress and kiss Elmer. Most comic book universes have at least a few gay and lesbian characters (not even mentioning Wonder Woman's home island) and more adult oriented cartoons too. The Simpsons, Family Guy, Drawn Together, Futurama, High School USA, Ugly Americans, Strange Frame, and the rest. Not to mention the live action shows like Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Arrow, etc.

And when these shows do not do it… or even when they do… the fans do. Whether it's sexual or not, if they want it, they will draw, write, sculpt, and in any other way they can make it happen. Heck I saw comics and artwork of Korra being a lesbian almost as soon as the show was announced, almost a year before it actually aired. Of course the fact that she used to be a boy probably helped with that. Aang had a girlfriend who Korra actually knew.

Why is it so different if two girls kiss each other instead of a boy and a girl? Even in shows for kids, I fail to see the difference. I'm not advocating underage sex or any of that, any more than, as I said, those other shows I mentioned were. Just because Timmy Turner has a crush on Trixie doesn't mean they're going to sneak off to the janitor's closet during recess. I'm just saying that if guys and girls can be romantic and you are not complaining about that then you cannot legitimately make the same complaint against two girls or guys doing the exact same thing.

You don't honestly believe that a child seeing a same sex couple kissing will somehow turn them gay, do you? Personally I'd find it more likely that seeing their own parents kissing, arguing, breaking up, or cheating on each other might, or if the kid walks in on you. But two cartoon characters? Doing something that at best takes thirty seconds out of a half hour cartoon full of magic, fighting, and the like? Unless your kid is actually gay, in which case it was probably going to happen anyway and you need to accept them, I don't see that happening. As for the religious angle, not only does implying that gay people exist in defiance of god's will smack of blasphemy in itself, but there is some historical evidence that Jesus' ancestor Ruth may have had a lesbian relationship with her mother-in-law Naomi not to mention that King Solomon had 1000 wives and mistresses, some of whom came from cultures where being gay was not a problem and who spent most of their time alone in the harem with the other wives.

So to sum up Korra and Asami are officially confirmed as a couple by all and sundry.

A lot of people have been whining about this for no apparent valid reason other than personal bigotry.

This story is how I see their time in the spirit world going since they did not kiss right away. Hey they've both got issues. I can see them dragging it out a few days.

If you liked it or hated it, please review it and my other fan fics on this and other sites.

If you really liked it check out my books under Clayton Overstreet or C.D. Overstreet at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and their associates. My most recent are "Lesbian Fairy Tales" and "Undead Strippers Versus the Alien Zombie Queen" and I feel the titles explain it all.


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